It's perhaps the single most unpleasant task a boss must have to take care of: firing an employee. The mere consideration of it makes your gut clench up, your palms sweat, your head pound. Trepidation courses through your body, making you tense plus on edge. You snap at your spouse or significant other. You tune out your kids. You pace the floor.

There's no doubt about it. There's no fun in firing employees. It ruins your day, probably even your week. However, you have to do it.

You've made this decision and you're probably not changing your mind. After all, isn't that the reason you came to this web site? So take a deep breath. Be comfortable with your decision. It's certainly not a horrible one, you know. At a particular point, one's time with a company is merely, well, over.

More than likely your employee just isn't performing. He's that very definition of dead weight. (Yes, we recognize this "firee" might be a woman, however we seek to steer clear of the confusing he/she/his/her conundrum.) Or else he might be performing but certainly not in a direction that seems right for your workplace culture. Or he's so "difficult" that your great employees are threatening to quit out of disgust.

Why you must get rid of dead weight - and the sooner, the better.

Low performers don't just drop the ball in regards to their own tasks. They create enormous resentment within the staff, which prevents them from living up to their full potential. They trigger a "ripple effect" of negativity that infects your overall establishment. They might be real morale killers.

Most of us understand a sense of fairness, while low performing workers violate it. Imagine a time back in your career when you worked long and hard with a team to accomplish a goal, but one co-worker slacked off. Everyone generated revenue-initiating ideas, while he came along only at the end to take all the credit.

It makes your blood boil just thinking about it, doesn't it? That's exactly what your employees may now be feeling about Mr. Underperformer. At best they are thinking, "Why should I work so hard to get results while Mr. X coasts through his days and produces nothing, without any repercussions?" At worst: "I'm tired of waiting for things to change - I'm resigning."

Such a threat exists in your company right now. Now more than ever, you must fire Mr. X. If you delay another day, you will create more work for you and your company, and more headaches for your staff. There are ways to help you steer clear of that fate.

Terminating an employee is never easy, so let's not pretend it is. Yet there is a way you can minimize the pain.

Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional, CEO, and Founder of KEYGroupİ) has written a guide to help you learn the right steps to fire an employee. How to Fire Someone: A Guide for Reluctant Managers will walk you through this unpleasant task one step at a time. She'll also show you ways to terminating an employee but still leave them with their dignity.

Here are a few things you will learn:

How to legally cover yourself and your organization.

The best time of day and day of the week to terminate someone.

Three things never to say during a termination.

The 10-minute termination: How to get to the point and do it quickly.

The art of humane firing: How to walk the fine line between "cold along with callous" and "conflict-avoider vague."

The secret phrase that offers a fired employee to leave with a sense of dignity.

How to write that termination letter (samples included!)

Obviously, firing an employee isn't fun, yet it may be executed respectfully and professionally. Dr. Sujansky's article guides you along each step of the way.

Once it's over ... what's next?

One reason it's so stressful to firing employees may be the uncertainty that follows. After the employment termination is over, you don't know what's going to arise next. You don't know how the current employee may react, whether he'll look for revenge, or how swiftly you'll be able to find his replacement (as well as what that person may be like).

We don't hold a crystal ball for you, but we can help everyone prepare for the times ahead by recognizing a few things that could happen and help you decide how to handle them. Here are a few of the topics answered in Dr. Sujansky's article:

What could I do if this employee becomes livid or violent?

What if he gets emotional, wants to talk or begs you to reconsider?

What if he threatens or instigates legal action?

How would I break the current news to other employees?

How would I ensure that the new person I hire doesn't initiate the same sorts of headaches?

Order your copy of How to Fire Someone: A Guide For Reluctant Managers by Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky today. Please don't delay. The quicker you deal with terminating an employee the better - for you and your workplace.

Only $15.00

Order your copy of HOW TO FIRE SOMEONE: A GUIDE FOR RELUCTANT EMPLOYERS now!

30 Minute Phone Consultation
Knowing your potential is a key factor in your continued success. You have probably already mastered your technical skills, and your creative juices flow continually like a waterfall in the tropics. But one morning, you look in the mirror and say, “Now what”? The challenges of leadership are frequently being thrown at you. Issues that develop in the office make you feel like you are sleeping on a bed of nails. Your team doesn’t understand the priorities, your boss is hard to pin down, and you have inherited a new department in addition to the one that you are currently running. How do you face daily issues that require resolution immediately every seven minutes?

Giving up is not the answer. KEYGroup® Consultants can help you to move your leadership and management skills to the next level. Call 724-942-7900 to schedule a 30 minute phone session to help you become a better leader! $75.00

The Performance IndictatorThe Performance Indicator™ is a DISC-type assessment that reveals an individual’s job performance and aspects of their personality that could impact their fit with their manager, coworkers and team. It is used primarily for motivating and coaching employees and resolving post-hire conflict and performance issues.

This assessment specifically measures an individual’s motivational intensity and behaviors related to productivity, quality of work, initiative, teamwork, problem solving, and adapting to change, as well as response to stress, frustration, and conflict. The output from this assessment serves as a “manager’s operating manual” for an employee, which helps managers better motivate, coach, and communicate with the employee. It also helps to predict and minimize conflict among co-workers, and provides crucial information for improving team selection and performance.
Cost $125.00 – Includes the assessment and a 30 minute debrief. $125.00

PXT Assessment
This assessment measures how well a candidate fits a specific job in your organization. The “job matching” feature in this assessment is unique, and it enables you to evaluate an individual relative to the qualities required to successfully perform a specific job. It is used throughout the employee life cycle for selection, on-boarding, managing and strategic workforce planning.

This assessment reveals consistent, in-depth, and objective insight into an individual’s thinking and reasoning style, relevant behavioral traits, occupational interests, and match to specific jobs in your organization. It helps your managers interview and select people who have the highest probability of being successful in a role, and provides practical recommendations for coaching them to maximum performance. It also gives your organization consistent language and metrics to support strategic workforce and succession planning, talent management and reorganization efforts.
Cost $275.00 – Includes the assessment and a 45 minute debrief.

$275.00

We want to hear from you! If you have an outrageous, totally out of the ordinary story about getting fired, letus know.